A bright idea from Oxford University is being commercialised so smaller businesses can play a role in curbing emissions — and tackling their rocketing energy bills.

University spin-out Pilio is offering an online service enabling small and medium businesses to monitor and manage their energy usage, potentially saving up to 40 per cent of their energy budget.

Pilio’s online energy monitoring tool, sMeasure, was developed at the university’s Environmental Change Institute.

It has been available online for three years and Oxford's New Theatre is among the 400 businesses already using the system.

It combines gas and electricity meter readings with weather data, to accurately assess a building's energy efficiency.

Pilio chief executive Catherine Bottrill, who developed the software with fellow researcher Russell Layberry, said: “Energy costs are going up significantly this winter. Many businesses will be looking for a way to save money."

She believes that while everyone knows they should turn lights off and turn the heating down, sometimes people focus on the wrong things.

“Sometimes small and medium-size businesses are pushed into buying a smart meter but they don't have the information to use the results. Our message is ‘don ot spend any money on equipment’. Just start reading your meter for three to six months, learn about the use of your building and then you will be able to make changes.”

She added smaller companies need simple solutions. “We have kept the cost for our customers low at a subscription of £120 a year per building. Using the tool requires only five minutes a week to input meter readings.”

The software aims to allow businesses to use their own common sense to stop waste.

“They can look at their patterns of energy use over time so they can spot peaks, troughs and abnormalities, which will alert them to problems with their building control settings or prompt them to carry out maintenance work.”

UK clients include the Albert Hall, Greater Authority of London, Julie’s Bicycle, Ebico and Severn Wye Energy Agency.

And sMeasure is expanding into the US market as part of the Innovator Pilot Project with Sierra Business Council, supported by Pacific Gas and Electric.

Over the next year, Pilio aims to increase the number of British and American businesses it works with four-fold.

It is the first company to graduate from the Isis Software Incubator, supported by £15,000 from the university's Challenge Seed Fund, managed by Isis Innovation. Companies can visit the Pilio website and get a free 30-day trial.

The name Pilio is short for the Latin word papilio, meaning butterfly — a reference to the butterfly effect where small changes can have a big impact.

Ms Bottrill said: “I like the idea that small changes do have some impact on climate change when they are joined up. We need it to have scale and so that is the theme and the vision for the company.”